I have heard of synaesthesia where people see music as colours, but limited on those who see people's auras. It certainly makes you think on how it would affect you if this happened to you. It was one of those books that I became totally absorbed in, not light hearted as I normally enjoy, but contemplative especially towards the end. One to read when you want something a bit heavier, but not depressing, and totally different. Highly recommended.

Based on the dozens of archaeological expeditions I've made all over the world, I am confident that those potshards are Mesopotamian in origin.Alice has the skill to visualise in colours and fights through life coming from a suboptimal family. How can one master life, if distraction is a steady consonant in life? How can one move in a society without fear, if one can see and feel the darkest intentions of some people for instance at a children´s playground? And what happens, if someone with synesthesia comes across someone who reflects no color whatsoever? Alice is just a young girl when she starts seeing colors swirling around her mother, Lily. Soon she starts seeing colours around everyone and soon learns they are reflecting the person’s mood & emotions. But Alice doesn't want the gift, and struggles with adjusting to being different to everyone else. At times, it's overwhelming for her feeling everyone's emotions, so she hides away from the world and only interacts with very few people.

A story that will make you stop and think more times that I have wanted honestly. It’s all about kindness, acceptance of our different abilities in life and most of all , the fear of not actually firing in a mood that this society is so set upon and likes to put everyone in a box.Alice’s gift leads to problems at school and she gets sent to a boarding school for difficult children where she makes 2 good friends who we briefly meet again once Alice has moved to London and is trying to find a job she can do.

Modern architecture in Miamisburg, Ohio, USA - shot in the golden hour. (Image credit: Getty Images) If your subject is predominantly dark, or ‘low key’, exposing to the right creates a dull wash of midtones. Be subjective! 5: Shoot at ISO100

I’ve just begun writing my new novel which will be the 20th novel I publish. Have you ever made a literary pilgrimage? A solitary leaf on colored paving slabs, photographed using the rule of thirds (Image credit: Getty Images)

Did being the daughter of a former taoiseach help prepare you for being a public figure or encourage you to keep a low profile? If you don’t feel your own pain, you cannot recognise it in others. Our own suffering can cultivate the ability to help others. With photography it’s often a battle to get a fast enough shutter speed to capture your subject without blur or camera shake, but with landscapes, it’s often desirable to use blur creatively in a scene. Freeze a waterfall and you completely lose the sense of movement and drama; but shoot it at a slower shutter speed and it turns into an indistinct blur that speaks volumes about the ferocity of the fall. The problem is that, even in dull light and when you’re shooting at a narrow aperture, you’re unlikely to be able to reach a slow enough shutter speed. An ND filter reduces the amount of light reaching your sensor without affecting the colors; used in conjunction with a tripod it will enable you to achieve exposures several seconds – or even minutes – long.It was certainly overwhelming. The workload was immense from the beginning which was excellent training. However, being from Ireland and being surrounded by grounded Irish people, I knew, because I was told, that what was happening to me was not the norm. I knew that it was not going to be the case for every single book for the rest of my life and so I was embracing the moment and enjoying it as much as I possibly could. What makes your work so attractive to film-makers?